Friday, October 31, 2008

My annual laryngitis rounds begin...

Well, whether you knew me (or of me) or not around this time last November is not necessarily important to know ho how totally "Lori-land" my latest news is. Yep...in addition to the sinus infection I am now being treated for, I have laryngitis. I had laryngitis 3 (yep, THREE) times last school year, and the first bout came up right about now--in 2007. It's a little early, this year, as my last year's round came up closer to the middle of November (had to miss my kids Thanksgiving program during the day, but made it for the evening performance) because I was in the same fix. Well, if nothing, I am consistent.

So...laryngitis, my friends, is NOT fun. First, I am a talker. No, you say? Ha ha. Second, laryngitis does not really hurt your throat, it hurts your chest. Throw in a lovely upper-respiratory infection and folks, you have GREAT sleeping conditions. NOT. Last, being out of school is really more of a pain than being there--sub plans (though wonderful subs make life so much easier), rescheduled observations, and honestly, missing some really sweet kids.

Needless to say, as frustrated and discouraged and sad as I have been about the wait times, I imagine the last few days of my negativity have been sort of colored by ill health. At least I hope so, because in looking back over the past posts and little status updates on Facebook, I am not really proud of my bad attitude. I went to John Wright's site today and he posts about these poor, poor people who had animals stolen and killed...I hope he doesn't mind, but in an email, John said, " As for the kids losing the sheep... For them, it is more then sheep, A persons place in society is determined by the # of animals that they have... Yet they have such faith, it's almost like they say ... God gave them to us, They are His to do with as He see's fit .... I guess it is a reminder to us that we have what we have , only by the grace of God.... I am sure that with their attitude, they day will come when their flocks will cover the hillside in Orlofka! "

Talk about humbling. It is by the grace of God that I have what I have, and it is because of His plans for me that I don't have what I want yet...well, as much as that sucks for me, it's my cross to bear--to patiently wait as God's plans for me and my life unroll.

And, as I've said many times before, patience is just not one of my strongest skills.

Ah...life in Lori-land.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Frustration

Okay...granted, I have some killer sinus issues these days AND it is COLD (and I hate cold) AND John is supposed to leave soon and the projects are still not done AND I am dealing with school issues (as always...though not my kids--they are just the sweetest things EVER!) AND I could go on and on...those things said, I am just miserable. I have this awful, terrible feeling (based on the awful, terrible times so many waiting for their babies or referrals are going through) that we won't be seeing a child in this house for a good year and a half or MORE...which is certainly not what I was planning on back in March. I was hoping that August, September--we might be bringing her home. Well...based on all sorts of changes (AGAIN) and standstills in place already, it seems it may be more like we may not even be able to be APPROVED for a referral until oh, January/February MAYBE. Then, we may be able to expect a referral 10- 14 months AFTER THAT. THEN there's the time between trip 1 and trip 2 (which is going on way past several months for many now) and like I said...I bet we don't have her home for another year and a half or more, easy. And that, my friends, just makes me ill. I am in such a bad mood.

So, I won't write too much. I tried to commit myself to not stress about where our dossier is until maybe mid-January when it has been sitting there for several months, but I have to be honest. I look at the stories of others and follow their timelines...watch the boards and guestimate from others' agency info...and it just isn't that pretty, folks.

So...frustration. Sorry.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

One action-packed post!

Okay...let me start off with the fact that I am sitting on my sofa in my pajamas when I should be in church...and then say that my alarm clock is one of those that automatically sets time based on some satellite or something like that (remember, John's a pilot/space/weather geek) and apparently thought TODAY was Daylight Savings Time! So, it goes off, I get ready to get up and John tells me, "You know that it is actually an hour later than that, don't you?" Well, frankly, no, I didn't. And John, if YOU did, why didn't you let me know a little sooner????? Upon getting up, however, my sinuses and throat said to me, "You know, Lori...we're a little uncomfortable today. Maybe you need to sleep in a bit more?" Well, darned those little stinkers, they talked me into a little more sleep...just a little and then I'd get to church, just miss Sunday School. Hmmm. About an hour later, I smell bacon, eggs and coffee. John has figured that I have ditched church altogether and made a lovely breakfast. Which really was yummy, but again, I slept too late for church. Needless to say, I feel guilty. Twice.

And, on the subject of guilt....today is THE day for Nanci and another friend of ours, Rory. We have been getting updates and I just still cannot believe the determination those marathon runners (a group of people to whom Nanci now belongs!! No more non-runner status for her!) have. In fact, as I type this post, here's the latest alert for her: NANCI WEINSTEIN, 02:02:57 (NET) @ 15K Pace 13:11 , Predicted 05:45:39.00. Powered by Marine Corp Marathon..

Here's the guilt...I had planned to be there today--after church, we were headed up there. Well, as you read already, church plans have fallen to the wayside and my sinuses still say the thought of doing much of anything outdoors today is not really going to go over well. And for this, I feel terrible, because I am SO proud of Nanci! I have been following her efforts and her perseverance. I have watched her move out of our neighborhood (sniff, sniff) and uproot her life (again, as we in the military life often do) and STILL stick with it. She and I talked about that dedication on our way back from our FABULOUS NKOTB concert and she said it was just something she was doing solely so she could say she did it. I told her that there were lots of things I'd like to be able to use that motivation for, but the truth was, I was and am TOO LAZY. There is absolutely nothing I can think of right now that I am so moved by that I would put myself through what Nanci has just to claim I did it. And so, for her effort, dedication and success...I'm honored to know her!

And while I am talking about dedication, again John Wright and his family show themselves as true definitions of Christian love and have a new website. On this site, you can see things that are needed in Kyrgyzstan and fund them. Instantly. The hearts of this man and his family are so great indeed, and if you want to do something that you know is needed and simply done out of love for our fellow humans, go here...

Also, I am continually moved by the things that Cindy LaJoy has to say. She is the moderator for they Kyrgyz yahoo group, and the proud mother of three wonderful boys. Her latest post was about her baby, Kenny and as usual, moved me to tears. (Sap, remember? I'm a sap!) She knows that she is his biggest advocate and I am so glad because there are so many parents out there who get railroaded by the school system (of which I am a part, don't forget, so I am really bucking the party line!) and their children are the ones who suffer. I love my children. I love my families. I HATE the culture of education that basically acts as if parents are a big pain in the school's butt. Hello--PARENTS PAY MY SALARY! Parents trust me every day with their precious children. As I told Cindy, PARENTS REIGN SUPREME. Or should. Now, realize there are also parents who could care less, send their kids to school and don't give a darn whether they succeed or not. Those parents, sadly, are just facts of life. All I can do is make it the best I can for the children of those parents. But by and large, parents just want what is best for their kids and trust us to provide it. And in reality, that just doesn't happen all the time. Or much of the time. Not for lack of trying, mind you. Just politics. Indifference. Party Politics. Redonkulous (my new hilarious word) if you ask me.

Okay...now I remember why I mentioned Cindy, other than I was touched by what she wrote. She ALSO left a comment that made my day: Celebrate the things you can, Lori!! If you don't, you go nuts :-) Patience, smatience...we want that dossier approved and a referral offered NOW!! Hahaha! Hang in there, the wait really IS worth it. Well, doesn't that just say it ALL! She's right. I DO want that dossier approved and I DO want that referral. I know I'll suck it up and wait, but she had a point in there is nothing wrong with wanting it yesterday!! So, thank you, Cindy, for putting that in perspective.

And on that note...

YIPPEE!! OUR DOSSIER HAS MADE IT TO KYRGYZSTAN AND WILL BE THE CATALYST THAT BRINGS EMMA HOME. THANK YOU, LORD!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Spoken too soon...

Well, yesterday's 'no news' has turned into today's 'news' rather quickly.

Our dossier is in Bishkek! Hooray. Sort of. For anyone who follows any of the other blogs I follow, you probably realize that so much is going on in Kyrgyzstan and things are slow, things are confusing, things are...well, unknown. The scary part right now is that there is a process our dossier has to go through to get us to where we are officially even awaiting a referral--and as that process is rather new and unestablished, no one really knows how long it will be for our dossier to get to the referring person. I knew we'd have to wait for a referral--who knew I'd have yet another wait before that wait? I sure didn't. Worse, no real idea of what that wait is like. Ugh.

In any event, we are moving along and I just continue to pray it is quickly and know that it will all happen in the perfect timing that God provides. Patience, unfortunately, has never been one of my virtues. This is how I know God finds me funny--He knows just how to teach me lessons!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

No news is...well, no news.

And, to quote Forrest, "That's all I have to say about that."

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Dear Emma,

Okay, so another thing mommy does is offer to do things for people because she really and truly loves people and wants to help as much as she can. With this, though, comes mommy's inability to BACK AWAY from projects she gets roped into and to say, "No, I can't do that. Sorry." Long story short, mommy is helping someone with an important paper. So I go and look on the Internet for something for the paper and do a Google search. (Will Google still be big when you can read this?) Up pops the part where Google brilliantly tells you there are documents on your own saved hard drive that might match your search. One comes up and I click on it because I am curious about how it might match "Vision Statement" as it highlights a post from your Grandma's blog back in 2001! (The grandma for whom you are named, by the way) Here is that post...and I, being the sap I told you yesterday that I was, couldn't help but cry. See, mommy still misses HER mommy very much, and is very happy to have you but unhappy that she doesn't get to see you and watch you grow. You are very lucky with your Grandma Ennis because I know she loves you very much. She's already made you a blankey and will buy the crib you have sweet dreams in... I just wish you could know how much your Grandma Jane would love you too. AND, Grandma Jane knew how much I wanted you way back in 2001! I have always wanted you. For about as long as I can remember. I just didn't know the path I'd take to get you...but that's ok, because if that is what daddy and I have to get you, we are glad to do so. Anyway, the post from Grandma Jane...she sure was technological WAY before I was and quite funny too. In this post, she was missing me and your daddy at Christmas, and letting her feelings be known. (She was good at that!) But she sure knew how much I loved my nieces and nephews and kids and you, and I'm glad I found this post to remind me! Emma, it is amazing how God talks to us, but don't ever think He doesn't. In addition to this letter, there is a Bible quote that another friend waiting for her boys to come home posted and it made me think so much of you...it is Habakkuk 2:3 and goes..."But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed." (NLT) Pumpkin, God talked to me through that verse today and told me the worries I have about getting to you are for naught...surely it will take place. Then, He talked to me again through Grandma's post...reminding me that you were wanted and loved before I knew it was you. Here's what she had to say...
semperfimyfriend
No call has come in. Lori and her Marine are in Germany this morning. I'm in a pouting mood. I subtly got the message across that one does not leave their family for foreign shores at Christmas without being forced. Well, maybe I wasn't that subtle about it. On the one hand, I am angry. About 80%, I'll say. On the other, I am excited for her that she has the opportunity that I would never have even dreamed of. Still, tradition is tradition and my last words to her as they shuttled to their plane at the airport (?) were "I love you anyway. Merry Christmas." And no phone call. She said quote "I'll call you when we get to Frankfort."unquote
She's with a Marine. Why should I worry? A pilot Marine, to boot. I asked him to put in a word with the pilot -- pilot to pilot -- to be very careful. He just laughed and said, "I will." Suppose he thought I was joking.
On the good side of today's news comes a "tool bench" from this very same set of children. It's for the grandkid whom Lori works very hard to spoil. Over 100 pieces in a very large box. The little guy just doesn't know how good he's got it. She loves kids -- and wants one. Til she gets one, I think she's going to just overload her niece and nephew with love, affection, and "stuff." Bless her. She was having problems in her profession, adjusting to the notion that all children do not have an equal footing in the socio-economic world nor the intellectually-capable world but I think she's adjusting to that very well. This year, she says, her class is perfect. "I love my kids." She loved em' last year, too, but just not the burdens many of them carried.
So... with her away, it will be us. Me, Jim, Jimmy, and Heather and co. That will do. Next year, according to the flying Fraulein, "we're staying home." Muttered something about someone laying a huge guilt trip on them. Wonder who that was? Semper Fi. We love Marines at our house.


Yes, Grandma Jane was funny. Or at least thought she was! J

I love you, pumpkin!
Mommy

And yes, again...crying.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Dear Emma,

Well, I guess you will know soon enough, but your mommy is a SAP! S to the A to the P in all caps (which rhymes with sap, which is what I am!!!) SAP! So many children are geting loved all over the world, and not just because they are with their families, but WAITING for their families...and it makes my heart just full. Mommy watched Adoption Story this morning and just cried and cried. She listened to Butterfly Kisses on her way to work yesterday and nearly had to pull over because I was tearing up thinking of your daddy loving you so much. And trust me, when you see how much he loves your PITA doggie Dixie Belle, you will KNOW he will love you in a way he can't even begin to imagine yet. Here I sit watching tv (Daddy's flying on a Saturday, so I can be a couch potato!) and a commercial for poor puppies and kitties has come on and I am just heartbroken over the sadness that I can see on their little faces. Emma, my boys in girls in my class know that they need to have tissues on hand at any given moment because I will cry at the slightest thing...happy? Sniff, sniff. Sad? Sniff, sniff. Laughing? Yep, you guessed it, I laugh until I cry. So, baby girl...I'm just warning you now. Mommy is a bleeding heart with overactive tear ducts. Just you wait until I actually see you. Talk about stock going up...those who have invested in Kleenex will have a field day.
I love you pumpkin!
Mommy

And yes...I'm tearing up now because I know one day...ONE DAY you WILL read this. And I hope you know how much you are loved before I even know it is you...

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Perhaps some miscommunication???

Um, yep, DEFINITELY!

In my haste and excitement, perhaps I was a little (accidentally) misleading in my post about Being Off. I need to clarify.

Our PAPERWORK is off to Kyrgyzstan. NOT US. I'm guessing NOT US for a while. And I am sorry about the confusion! I'm really very appreciative of the support, but to coin one of my mom's old sayings, (well, she said it all the time--I'm sure it wasn't hers!) " 'Taint Me." Rather, " 'Taint US." Yet.

Again, sorry for eliciting best wishes under false (though wishful!) pretenses!! When WE are really off--trust me--it will be WELL KNOWN!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

OH CR*P.

Okay, anyone feel free to help...in my excitement about the latest breakthrough, I wanted to add the newest to my timeline to Emma..and it is GONE! I tried to cutesie my stupid blog (trying to keep up with the Joneses, darnit!) and LOST MY TIMELINE!

I DID save the template before I changed it...according to some websites directions...anyone know if I can get it back and HOW? I hate to think I lost that timeline!!!

Uggh.

Sorry for the title.

**UPDATE** Umm, yeah...that timeline is GONE. I restored the old template, but when I 'lost' widgets, restoring them does NOT restore the 'configurations' that went with them. AKA the data for the timeline...my only hope is that I uploaded to blurb and it is there enough for me to reconstruct. Otherwise...I have to go back and manually reconstruct by reading all the past posts. Oh well...maybe it is time to do a complete and thorough grammar check anyway....

God love the ellipsis. It's punctuation like those little buggers that get me through a time like this.

We're OFF!

Okay...at the risk of...well, I don't know--sharing something I can't see any reason not to share, but with times being as they are...we are officially off to Emma's country! Not sure of what's next, but know we are at least moving along and someone in the Kyrgyz embassy was ok enough with us to send us on to their fair country. I HAVE learned that information I get and share needs to be more confidential--for what reasons I can only fathom and am not really fond of--so I don't know how much more will be posted or not, but I have to say that from the very beginning of ALL of this, I have had faith that all would work the way it should--and worries about baby swapping or agencies stealing info and such would not even be blips on my radar. I still think that is the way it should be, but going through the process has shown me that it just isn't...so I will be more careful of what info I broadcast. I want to share it all, though, so I'll do my best.

So...on that note....now we just need to find someone to rent (or buy, ha ha!) our first Maryland house. Emma's mommy needs to stay home next year and play patty-cake with her!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Go here...do this!

Please, go to this site and read about the proposals that will affect pre-adoptive parents already in process of adopting children. (Though this affects those adopting from Hague countries, and Kyrgyzstan is not, children waiting are children waiting--regardless of where it is they wait!) As any one who has read my trials and tribulations with adoption paperwork knows, there are SOOO many hoops we have to jump through (many RIDICULOUS AND REDUNDANT) simply to parent our child. And, all things considered and based on others' experiences, we had it EASY! Well, one of those hoops is getting permission to adopt an orphan (we get this permission from our country)--and the process changed after we had already gotten approval. This change, at the time, was supposed to grandfather in those already in the process, and prevent them from having to go through the whole darned thing again should their approval run out and they simply need an extension (as is SO often the case, and sadly, I think will be the case for us as well)of their approval status. Apparently, that grandfather clause is about to become non-existent, and the move to keep that clause needs to be supported!! Forcing parents to START OVER instead of allowing them to extend (and folks, I'm not unreasonable...I'm not saying that extension should be forever--but at least as long as it takes--look at the lengths of wait times for some of these countries!) is just another money-making waste of tax-dollar resources. And pretty much a nice slap in the face to those poor people who have been AND STILL HAVE TO wait--just to bring their child home. PLEASE...go to the site, read up if you want, and voice your support to do something that for ONCE doesn't penalize poor parents-to-be just to make some flipping money.

Folks, the dow made record gains today. SURELY we don't need to keep nickeling and diming adoptive parents (any more than they already are) to keep our heads above the water.

I'm now stepping off my soapbox.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

TAG! Thanks, Jenny!

Okay...my dear friend Titanium Woman tagged me to tell 10 of my husband's favorite things. Hmmmmm....seeing as Dixie (the PITA that she is) seems to be the reason he lives and breathes, maybe I can get away with using her for numbers 1-10?

No?

Okay...let's see....

(And, of course, in no particular order!)

1. Dixie. I tell you, I have never seen anyone more enamoured with a dog in my life. He carries this 67 pound beast around like a baby. She whines, he jumps. She bats her little doggy eyelashes, he's PUTTY. That dog is the reason that I know he will be a great dad--if he's this much of a sap over a DOG, I can only imagine the trouble I will be in for when Emma comes along...

2. Airplanes. Loves them, flies them, watches them, learns about them, spouts off useless information about them, was made for them. Enough said.

3. His parents. John truly does love his parents. He has the total love of a son for his mom that I hope to have one day with a son of my own. (No, I don't want Emma to be an only child!! With how much her daddy will spoil her, I will need someone to balance the power!!!) He has an admiration for his mother that is very touching in a man, and though he won't admit it, he is a total momma's boy. Which is not a bad thing. And his dad...his dad was a wonderful, brilliant man who John misses every day, even though he doesn't voice it. He doesn't have to. I know how much his dad meant to him every time he tells me something I know he wishes he could tell his dad, or every time he looks at a plane (see above) or hears Lee Greenwood's "Proud to Be An American,"-- I know that John's world is what it is because of his dad and I know that for John, no greater man has ever lived.

4. Virginia Tech Football. This is a love we both share! In fact, let's just change that to Virginia Tech period--football one part of the many things we both love about Tech. We met there, fell in love there, and in a sense, grew up together there. Blacksburg is beautiful, we love our Hokies and know that little Emma will love it as much as we will. Period.

5. Camping. God love him, he's a camper. Bless his heart, I am not. He loves it. Loves the cold, brisk air so he can snuggle into a sleeping bag and hear the crickets chirp. Loves to cook a gourmet steak meal over an open fire with soaked oak chips. Lives for sitting around said fire with good friends and some Wild Turkey or Jack Daniels. In fact, is going camping this very weekend and is soooo excited, even I can't stand it for him!

7. Fishing. Much like camping, fishing is something John just loves. One with nature, thrill of the catch--all that mess. More than that, he loves to eat those babies up, so for the most part, I'm ok with him loving to fish. I'm not a big fish fan, though, so, it's just for the most part I'm ok with it...I hate those poor little fish eating the hook just for the sport. Then again, it does make my boy soooooo happy...

8. Cooking. I know, I know..I'm lucky. He may not readily admit that he loves cooking, but he does. He has a spice cabinet that is far more extensive than my shoe collection in its diversity, and you can just see him go to his happy place when he samples something marvelous he's made. It's just plain magic.

9. Carpentry. Again, I know I am lucky. He loves creating and building things and he is SOOOOOO darned good at it!! I mean, right now...the boy has--from scratch, mind you--designed, bought supplies for and nearly finished a shed. In just a couple of days. After work. AND BY HIMSELF! He's amazing in the things he can see in his mind, and even more amazing in how he can bring them to life. I TOTALLY tell him just to pay someone to do it, and he says no because he enjoys it!! Go figure. (But, keep building, honey, keep building!!)

10. Traveling. He LOVES to go on adventures...the more off the beaten path, the better. Drives me NUTS. He's all about the experience of the unknown--the adrenaline, the thrill of the something unique and individual. He's the one that wants to just drive through some small village in the middle of Italy and HOPE someone is willing to just take us in for dinner and a bed. More than that, he's the one that has DONE that...and is a better person for the whole affair. He's one brave fellow, that guy!

Wow...I thought this would be difficult--at least to be authentic about it, but it wasn't. John is the most intelligent, hard-working (under the right motivation) adventurous man I know. He is a sap with animals and I know he will be so with his little girl. He is trust-worthy and very well-respected among his peers for his ability to be diplomatic and open-minded.

Yep, I guess I did alright.

Now...TAG to: Monica, Nanci, Amber and Lisa

I'd love to TAG Maria, but seeing as she is bringing The Princess home, she may be a bit busy!!!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Don't let the flu bug hit ya on the way out....Part Deux

I totally think that is the same name as a post I had earlier in the year...and yet, it is applicable months later. I feel yucky! Sore throat, neck and shoulders achy, headache, tired--just yucky. I had three parents email me this morning to tell me that their little darlings would not be in school because they all had the flu--same symptoms. Hooray! Another reason I just love teaching!!

So, as I sit here with some whiskey tea and an achy body, I will document some things I ponder from time and maybe I can get some insight....

Why does Google Reader tell me that some of the blogs I follow don't have access to feed when I try to list them as blogs I follow? Does it have anything to do with those blogs being private? Don't know, but there are more blogs than the ones listed at the right that I follow and I tried to add them and get that "can't find the feed" line...hmmm...

Why can't I get my dog to listen to and obey me? She totally is capable, and does, when she wants...when John is gone in November, she'll be attending Mommy Boot Camp. One of us is going down. Safe money's on me. John says I have the resolve of lead. Hmph. He needs to watch out or he'll get to test that theory.

Why can I not remember to make the stupid appointments for my ta-tas until AFTER hours and I can't? I stress every day that I will die a short death of breast cancer, yet--still no appointment with Bethesda...and it's all my fault.

How do we have so much junk mail that I don't throw out because I might need to do something with it and so I put it in one of my famous piles? Why can't I just get rid of those piles?

What are school staff members supposed to do with 'school pictures' that they get? Seriously. The photographer last year, who retook my picture because I looked like a moose in the first take, told me that it wasn't that bad a picture and surely my mom would love it. Well, actually, it was a HORRID picture and seeing as my mom was dead, I doubted it. For real, I know Lifetouch needs to stay in business, but I don't NEED (nor necessarily want) pictures of me. So, Facebook profile it is...

Why can't I remember more things I have pondered when I actually sit down to ponder them? Maybe it's the temperature I am running.

So, as stated before, flu bug, be gone!

****ADDED**** As suspected, this exact title has been used by me--in April--hence Part Deux

Monday, October 6, 2008

Still Hangin' Tough...

Oh, of course I still am! Today everyone was asking about how the concert went, and OF COURSE, I had to gush, gush and gush some more. I still just can't get over what great seats we had, how great they sounded, how much love Joe shared with me, you know...the usual! Ha ha...so, anyway, I just got to keep reliving the whole thing all day long. Which is good for John because man, oh man, is he tired of hearing about it!

SO, anyway..as I am walking down memory lane this weekend, on Facebook, I stumble along two TOTAL crushes I had growing up! One, since 3rd grade. The other, the one who took the place of the one from 3rd grade when we were in 9th grade. In fact, as I have told John before, this one was the one who started my trend with tall, blond, blue-eyed boys! Anyway, I didn't (STILL--which sort of irks me) have the guts to request friendship with the one from 3rd grade, but I TOTALLY sent a message to my friend from high school because though I had a massive crush on him, he was fairly oblivious (or just really polite) and we were friends regardless. So, it has been fun to see what has happened 20 years later! Bless his heart, I actually pulled out my scrapbook and found all sorts of momentos to him or from him that have still been saved (along with my NKOTB official corresopondence as a fan club member)and am actually a little (um, a LOT) embarrassed by my...stalking, for lack of a better word, I guess. Luckily, he is as good-natured now as he was back in high school, and has laughed along with me at my crazy teenage girl crush evidence! (Or, again, just being really polite!) The reason I put this all out there is because it turns out he has a website that I have visited before and never even known it. Apparently, KD, my ninth and tenth grade crush, is the owner of Yogi the Pug, a world-famous cutie that someone sent me the link to not too long ago. Isn't it a strange, small world? Seriously, not too long ago, a friend and I were laughing at some picture someone sent me that had SugarBush the Squirrel dressed up, and somehow, Yogi's picture got sent to me and I visited his website! Who would have thought in a million years that Yogi's dad was the same boy I was goo-goo eyed over in high school? Sure not me...

Sooooo...in answer to so many who have asked how I can not be totally embarrassed about my NKOTB craze...here's how:

In essence, the 35-year old woman I am says that it was a lot of money to spend, especially since we are pinching pennies for Emma and that catching up on all these people from high school via Facebook TOTALLY wastes time (that I complain I don't have in the first place) and energy.

BUT--and here's the BIG BUT--the 15-16 year old, short, gawky big-glasses wearing, big teethed, frizzy-haired, giddy, giggly and ridiculously girly girl in me is SCREAMING inside!!! Joey Joe blew ME a kiss!!! KD actually REMEMBERS ME!!! Let me reiterate--SCREAMING inside. Sometimes it takes TWENTY FREAKING YEARS, but even ugly ducklings get a swan moment once or twice in their life!!

Friday, October 3, 2008

I TOLD you I'll Be Loving You Forever...

Okay, okay...I will no longer call them OPOTB. (Though, some of the songs still validate that moniker!) I will just call them THE BEST CONCERT OF MY LIFE!!!

Yep--with much trepidation, I admit, Nanci and I drove over to the Verizon Center last night and had the time of our lives!! NOT only were the seats freaking FABULOUS, they got BETTER!!! Yep...our seats were 3rd (YES, THIRD) row...just a little left. They were incredible. We were just shocked (though that's what lots of money buys, I guess) at how flippin' close we were. Then we realized that the row we were in was not very full at all. I guess most know that you don't have to get there right on time because who you really want to see doesn't even come on until about an hour after the show starts. So...we figure we'll move down a few seats to be practically at the best place (minus the stage) in the whole arena. We were there for a bit and really couldn't believe how our great seats got even better. And THEN, they got better than that!! Apparently, the people who had tickets for the seats we moved to came, and that was no problem, we just slid on down back to our seats. The thing is, though, they wanted to have their group of four sit together and they only had two seats in our row--their other two seats were TWO ROWS UP!!! TWO ROWS UP!! FRONT ROW! So, they asked if we would mind trading. WHAT? Unfortunately, the two they needed for their group were two on the other side of us, but I told them that if I was them, I'd sit there and we would all move to our regular seats if the official ticket holders came back. They agreed, and sat down, while Nanci and I hopped right on up -- to literally where we could get no closer!! It was AMAZING! We made friends with the girls behind us (who, we learned, paid about the same we did and got to MEET the 'Kids'--but said it was sort of awkward, so Nanci and I are glad the myth hasn't been debunked!) while the two new girls on the other side of us basically told us that we should switch seats with them (as ours were better) because they paid good money to be where we were (which they didn't, or they WOULD have been where we were) and we didn't. Ummm...no. I heard this conversation going on with them and Nanci, and purposely stayed out of it because Nanci was handling it just fine and I would have been snappy. Better to not start an argument and mess up a good thing. In the end, they ended up moving to where they wanted anyway, and we still had great placements, so, whatever.

So...let me tell you, the concert was amazing. They TOTALLY played the good stuff...and the new stuff they played? Well, they played the more benign stuff and some of it you couldn't even make the words out the words to very well, so...we enjoyed the great beat, the dancing, and the fact that we could SMELL THEIR COLOGNE, we were that close!!!! Now...here's the best part. And, if you are a Facebook friend, you already know this. Joey loves me. He does. Ask Nanci, ask the girls behind me...ask that whole front section. NOT ONLY did he and I share eye contact and face time on at least SIX different and countable occasions, he blew a kiss AT ME. TOTALLY AT ME. And I am not making this up--ask Nanci! I wouldn't have believed it myself, if I wasn't there, but he DID! AND...as I nearly had a conniption fit that he did, he and Donnie (who totally dug Nanci and her button--winks were witnessed!) laughed about my reaction. FOR REAL, friends...FOR REAL. Does it get any better???

Seriously, I had such a great time last night and the concert was fabulous and I am so happy that my high school crushes still remain (keeps me young) and LOVE ME BACK! Ha ha...they put on a great show and the outrageous amount of money it took to get there was worth EVERY PENNY. According to the girls beside us, it was worth more, apparently!!

I was a little peeved because they distinctly said no cameras, recording devices, etc...and the place was FULL of them, so Nanci and I were stuck with our camera phones, but at least we have some proof.

Here's Nanci and me just giddy beyond belief!


Here's Joey Joe on his knees crooning!



Here's Nanic's man...Donnie--her first DW!



You tube is alive with some video already, so I will have to download those as well and create my NKOTB folder.

John? Yeah, well, not to worry. As Joey is happily married with a new baby and I am happily married (with a new baby hopefully very soon) I guess we will just remain the star-crossed lovers we have been for the last 20 years. Another time, another place? Who knows? In any event, the chaste kiss blown to me was enough to make my heart pitter patter with thanks to them--if for no other reason but the glorious walk down memory lane.

Now...back to real life!